Irish teen in Egyptian prison goes on hunger strike

An Irish teenager imprisoned in Egypt is among a group of prisoners who have gone on hunger strike to protest at their continued detention without charges or trial.

Ibrahim Halawa, 18, yesterday marked one full year in jail since he was arrested during a crackdown on peaceful protests in the capital Cairo where he was visiting relatives.

The teenager, from Firhouse in Dublin, began refusing food last Wednesday after a mass trial in which he and 481 other defendants were brought to court ended abruptly when the judge walked out in apparent frustration with the impractical nature of the proceedings.